Portable air conditioning unit



Aug. 28, 1956 p, BRADY ETAL 2,760,354

PORTABLE AIR CONDITIONING UNIT Filed Dec. 9, 1953 a Q6 Elm]H"ml"HUHIIY@IIIIH|IIIIR 2 mmzmmmmmm 38 E 2 26 24 40 (6 f 3 as:

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ATTORN United States Patent PORTABLE AIR CONDITIONING UNIT Lawrence P. Brady, Brewster, and Frank B. Carbone, New York, N. Y.

Application December 9, 1953, Serial No. 397,247

7 Claims. (Cl. 62129) This invention relates to air conditioning, and more particularly to unit air conditioners which are adapted to be positioned within the conditioned space and which provide for ventilation of the space and for heat dissipation through a window or the like to the outside air.

Air conditioning units of the above character are ideally suited to condition individual rooms or zones, and one which may be positioned at a window in a room and provide for proper cooling, ventilating and dehumidifying. However, some such units are so positioned that they materially obstruct access to the windows and the use thereof. For example, if a unit occupies the lower portion of the window, it interferes with the entry of light, and it interferes with the occupants of the room seeing out of the window. Generally speaking, air conditioning units of the above character are costly to install and they cannot be moved readily from one window to another. Also, they are not readily adaptable for use with casement windows. Another difliculty which has been encountered in connection with units of the above character is that the difficulty in installing and removing them has made it more or less common practice to keep them in place throughout the year, even though they are used for only a relatively short period of time.

it is an object of the present invention to provide air conditioning units which overcome the difficulties referred to above. It is a further object to provide a simplified construction which is adaptable to many conditions of use. It is a further object to provide units of the above character which may be readily installed and removed with no material expense or difliculty. It is a further object to provide such units which cool and dehumidify the air within a zone without objectionable drafts and cold-air currents, and which also ventilate without cooling when desirable. It is a further object of the present invention to provide for the above with apparatus which is light in weight, sturdy, readily serviced, eflicient in operation and adaptable to many conditions of use and operation. These objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out below.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a sectional view of one embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary section of the bracket structure of Figure 1; and,

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional view on the line 33 of Figure 1.

Referring to Figure l of the drawing, a unit air conditioner 2 is positioned in a room at a window 4 having a sill 6 and a sliding window 8. Unit 2 includes a refrigera- -.tion system primarily within the conditioned space or room it), but rigidly clamped to the window sill and supported outside the building, is a condenser assembly 12. Unit 2 has a casing 20 and is mounted upon a set of casters 14 so that it is freely moveable. This unit has a motor-compressor 16 enclosed within the bottom compartment 18 of casing 20. The upper compartment 22 of the casing has a motor-driven fan 24 which directs air upwardly through a cowl 26 and thence through the finned evapo- 2,760,354 Patented Aug. 28, 1956 rator 30. Air is drawn into the bottom com artment 22 from the room through a filter 28 and the air is directed upwardly through the evaporator 30 and it is discharged into the room through a grill 32. The refrigeration system includes the motor-compressor 16, the evaporator 30, the condenser 34 of the condenser assembly 12, interconnecting lines and controls. Condenser assembly 12 also includes a motor-driven fan 36 and it is enclosed within a casing 38 beneath the condenser. Casing 38 has inlet grill 40 at the bottom and an air outlet grill 42 at the top. Condenser assembly 12 is connected to unit 2 through a flexible cable 44, which is of flexible plastic and which is constructed as shown in Figure 3. Cable 44 has two rectangular passageways, an air passageway 46 and a conduit passageway 48. Extending through passageway 48 is a double-wire flexible electric cord 50, a liquid refrigerant line 52, a gas refrigerant line 54, and a condensate line 56. Lines 52, 54 and 56 are all of flexible plastic, so that the flexible cable 44 and the lines enclosed within are flexible.

Referring also to Figure l, the refrigerant line 54 extends from the compressor of the motor-compressor 16 to condenser 34; and, the liquid refrigerant line 52 extends from the condenser to the evaporator 36, and there is a I capillary expansion element at the evaporator. The condensate line 56 extends from the end of cable 44 upwardly to a condensate pan 58 to which the condensate from the evaporator is delivered and is collected. The air passageway 46 is connected through an extension 61 to the face of the lower portion of filter 28. Hence, fan 24 draws air from the room as described above so as to recirculate air, and it also draws in fresh air through passageway 46, and this air is filtered and delivered to the room. Under some circumstances, an auxiliary air fan is positioned at the end of passageway 46 so as to provide increased air circulation into the room.

Electric current to operate the air conditioning unit is provided through a cord 62 which has a plug 64 plugged into an electric outlet. The electric cord 50 which extends through the cable 44 connects the motor of fan 36 in parallel with the motor of the motor-compressor 16. A manual switch and other standard controls are provided for the operation of the unit.

The condenser assembly is rigidly mounted upon a supporting bracket 66 which is shown best in Figure 2. This bracket is a rigid bar with a generally straight center portion 68, and at the right there is a semi-cylindrical hook portion 70. At the left, the bracket has a downwardly and outwardly extending portion 72, and a downwardly extending end portion 74. Portion 74 has the condenser casing 38 of the condenser assembly clamped to it by a pair of bolts. Rigidly attached to the top of bracket 66, is a handle 76. At the right, there is a thumb screw 7 3 in a threaded opening in hook portion 70.

When the unit is installed, the bracket fits onto a window sill as shown in Figure l, and thumb screw 78 is tightened so as to hold the bracket and the condenser assembly rigidly in place. The condenser assembly is thus supported outside the window and is spaced from the outer wall surface so that the condenser is cooled efiiciently. The condenser casing also provides a protected zone from which the fresh air is drawn into the room so that air is drawn in substantially free of dirt. However, the air is still filtered prior to being delivered to the room. Referring to Figure 3, the cable 44 and the supporting bracket 66 occupy a minimum amount of the window opening. Hence, the window may be kept substantially closed, and the small openings at the side of the cable and the bracket are covered by sponge-rubber stripping (not shown).

The entire air conditioning unit may be readily moved by merely opening the window and loosening thumb screw 78 and then lifting the condensing unit up and into the window. The end portion '70 on bracket 66 tends to hold the condenser assembly until the assembly is swung upwardly so that it is substantially within the room. Furthermore, the condenser assembly is sufliciently light in weight that it may be supported by cable 44 if the condenser assembly were to be dropped. The Condenser assembly is easily rested upon the top of unit 2, and when this has been done and the unit has been unplugged, it may be pushed away on its casters. It is thus seen that the unit is readily removed from the window, and it may be installed as easily by a reversed procedure.

During operation, sufiicient fresh air is drawn in to allow for the normally-expected outside ventilation. The condensate is directed by its line toward the path of the fan so that it is atomized and blown upwardly into the condenser. The condenser is cooled efiiciently, and the entire condenser assembly is sturdy and light in weight. Under some circumstances, the condenser fan is omitted, in which case the condenser may be of the flue-type, flatplate construction.

The unit herein disclosed is admirably suited for use with casement windows, in which case the cable 44 may be positioned on edge, with its greater cross-sectional dimensions vertical. However, the condenser assembly and its bracket are attached to the window sill in the manner above set forth. It is understood, however, that the details of construction and the arrangements of parts may be varied without departing from the invention.

In this embodiment, the condensate is withdrawn by a siphoning action combined with the aspirating action of the condenser fan. Under some circumstances, it is desirable to provide a condensate pump in the condensate line 56 at the attachment between cable 44 and casing 20. Such a pump could be a small motor-driven pump or a vapor lift pump. The pump could run continuously or, under some circumstances, it could be operated for a time sufl'icient to start the siphoning action. In the illustrative embodiment, it has been indicated that the condensate collects in pan 58 and, when desirable, one or more tubes or passageways may be provided from the evaporator or from the cowl 26 to pan 58. The siphoning action is materially aided by extending the outlet tube to a higher level such as to the cowl in which case the cowl is in the form of a condensate collecting pan. Under some circumstances, the condensate is not delivered to the fan but is permitted to drain from the bottom of the condenser assembly and for that purpose a flexible condensate line may have an extension which is dropped below the condenser casing a substantial distance thus to insure the siphoning action.

I claim:

1. In a unit air conditioner, the combination of, a moveable casing construction which is adapted to be positioned Within a conditioned space adjacent an outside opening, a refrigeration system which includes a condenser and which has all of its elements except said condenser mounted within and upon said casing construction, bracket means for said condenser and adapted to support said condenser in a position outside of the conditioned space,

and a flexible cable connecting said condenser with said casing construction, said cable including plastic refrigerant lines connecting said condenser with the appropriate elements of the refrigeration system within said casing construction and a flexible plastic structure forming a passageway for the refrigerant lines and a passageway through which fresh air is drawn into the conditioned space.

2. Apparatus as described in claim 1 wherein said casing construction is mounted upon casters whereby it may be moved easily, and wherein said bracket construction and said condenser may be easily drawn through the opening and positioned upon said casing construction.

3. Apparatus as described in claim 1 which includes, a condenser casing, and wherein said bracket means isrigidly attached to said condenser casing and has hook means adapted to be rigidly attached to a window sill.

4. Apparatus as described in claim 1 which includes a condensate disposal-line extending through said conduit and means to deliver the condensate from said casing construction to the vicinity of said condenser.

5. In an air conditioning unit of the character described, the combination of, a condenser assembly which is adapted to be clamped to a building wall externally of the conditioned space, refrigeration elements forming with said condenser a refrigeration system and moveably mounted as a unitary structure within the conditioned space, and flexible plastic conduit assembly providing an inlet for fresh air and individual plastic tubes for the flow of refrigerant and constituting the connecting means between said condenser and said refrigeration elements.

6. Apparatus as described in claim 5 wherein said refrigeration elements include a motor-compressor and an evaporator, and means to filter and circulate air through said evaporator.

7. In a unit air conditioner, the combination of, a movable casing construction mounted upon casters or the like and adapted to be positioned within a conditioned space adjacent an outside opening, a refrigeration system which includes a condenser and which has all of its elements except said condenser mounted Within and upon said casing construction, bracket means for said condenser and adapted to support said condenser removably in a position beneath a window and outside of the conditioned space, plastic refrigerant lines connecting said condenser with the appropriate elements of the refrigeration system within said casing construction, and a flexible plastic structure enclosing said refrigerant lines and providing a passageway through which fresh air is drawn into the conditioned space from the outside.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,181,213 Smith Nov. 28, 1939 2,251,960 Smith Aug. 12, 1941 2,362,698 Hull Nov. 14, 1944 2,500,852 Money Mar. 14, 1950 

